Nikolay Baskov: “In ordinary life I am simple. I even pack my bags myself. Exclusive interview with Nikolai Baskov "Some do not understand why I am on stage in a dress"

About the clip "Ibiza"

Several weeks ago, Philip Kirkorov and I broke the internet with our joint creation called Ibiza. Now the video "Apology for Ibiza" has also been released. I'll tell you this: I don't remember ever being scolded like that. Although in my life I have done everything and no matter how I hooligan.

Being an opera singer and trainee of the Bolshoi Theater, always going on stage only in tuxedos, tailcoats and “butterflies” and performing “In Memory of Caruso” on the stage, he suddenly recorded a rap with “Murzilki” from “Avtoradio”. The stylists then dressed me up in a crumpled shirt and ripped jeans, it was a shock for everyone. They burned me on what the light is worth. Seven years ago, on my anniversary, Kirkorov and I sang the song "They will not catch up with us." There were 500 guests in the hall, the whole flower of society, and we went out to them in shorts, in pioneer ties. We understood that by our appearance in this form and with such a composition, the nerves of the assembled were tickled. But the unexpected happened. For some reason, both me and Philip were unbuttoned fly shorts. In the euphoria of the performance, we, of course, did not pay attention to this. "E-mine," Kirkorov and I said after watching the video, "why are the pants too small!" What started then is scary to remember. Our unbuttoned shorts were talking about everything and everywhere. And I already thought that this is the peak, that we will not touch and shake people stronger. But I was wrong.

After "Ibiza" we were scolded in a way they never scolded anywhere else. On "Echo of Moscow", where nothing has been said about Baskov since its inception, "Ibiza" was devoted a whole hour and poured 18 tubs of shit on me.

Still from the clip "Apology for Ibiza" (2018). Photo: instagram.com

In general, an amazing story happened with this video. Society has split into two camps. Half of the viewers (and they have already exceeded fourteen million) are very fond of this video, half are enraged and splashing saliva: “Why are you, Nikolai,” they ask, “did you shoot such nasty stuff at all ?!” I'll tell you why. My mission is to entertain people. Distract them from the gray everyday life. Shake them up if they feel sad. I am an artist, this is my profession. And when we shot the video, that's exactly what I wanted. And he did. I am not afraid of being scolded. For 20 years of my career, nothing has been written about me, and I have never sued a single publication, this is my principled position.

Russia 1 TV channel also took a big risk by putting Ibiza on the air, but as a result, Andrei Malakhov's program, in which the clip was shown (not without cuts, of course), received the highest rating. And on "New Wave" we sang a song from the stage, then went for an encore, and this was the only encore in the entire history of "New Wave". And again, the channel's management was not afraid to show our performance, although there was everything that was possible: provocative scenery, and girls with fig leaves in a causal place, and boys in revealing costumes. But this is done on purpose. I am such a person - I cannot sing in the same costume against the background of the same black backdrop all my life. Then I will cease to be interesting to myself.

And by the way, Philip and I are similar in this. Both of us have been looking for ourselves all our lives. Philip did not shock people as soon as he was red-haired, white, green, whatever - and was not afraid of anything. And mind you, the audience's interest in him has not been lost for many years.

Friendship with Kirkorov

We have been friends with Philip for many years. Recently we were on the air with Urgant, and he was asking us when we met. Honestly, none of us will remember when it happened. Philip noticed me a long time ago, it was the Musical Ring program, well, that is, the last century still. And somehow it happened by itself - they began to communicate. And this confrontation of ours, about which they talk so much, is also entertainment. Playing for the audience. In fact, Philip is one of the few people I can count on. And he knows it's mutual.

During our communication, we have repeatedly got into stories. One of them was especially memorable. It was about New Year's Eve, we were shooting some endless “Christmas trees”, and after one of the shootings, which ended after midnight as always, Philip says: “I still won't sleep today, there are too many emotions, I need to somehow calm down. Let's go to the cinema? " I agreed, and he said: "Wait, I'll pick you up soon." Calls in. I go down and see - no security, no driver, Kirkorov himself is sitting at the wheel of a small sports two-seater car. He adores her, although it's still a mystery to me how he fits there with his height. In general, we got into the car, drove to the cinema, left it in the parking lot on the street.

We watched a movie, went out - the car won't start. Well, because we didn't turn off the headlights and the battery naturally sat down. It's cold outside, winter, snow, no one around, half past three in the morning. We go to the road to vote. Philip is in front, I am nearby, just behind him, and you can't see me from the road (he's still much taller than me). A car stops, and there are several guys and a girl inside. Philip in his trademark voice says: “Guys, please help. We have problems. It is necessary to "light up" (start the battery. - Approx. "TN") ". The driver of the car looks at him, completely stunned, and says: "Listen, you look so much like Kirkorov!" - “What do you mean“ similar ”?! This is me! " - Kirkorov is indignant. The girl from the back seat says with the utmost skepticism: “Well, yes, yeah, you Kirkorov! Only Baskov is still not enough to complete the picture. " And then I understand that the time has come to come to the fore. I come out from behind Philip and say: "So here I am!" The man in the car forgot where his ignition was. They saved us, of course - they "lit a cigarette", brought us on - but during the entire time of the rescue operation none of them uttered a word, they were so shocked.

About extreme childhood

Everyone around me began to suspect that I would become an artist from my very childhood. I have always been very outgoing, and I have always needed an audience - from a very early age. When we went to visit, the owners of the house said to their parents: "Just take Kolya with you, otherwise it will be boring at the table without him." My artistic nature demanded an exit, not always harmless, and I am grateful to my parents for their endless patience. I was never scolded, no matter what I did. At my grandmother's dacha, I tore chamomiles, put them in a can, walked with him to the electric trains, made a pitiful face and sold these chamomiles for a ruble. In the senior grades I fumbled near the Intourist hotel, knew by name and by sight all the prostitutes there, they also knew and loved me.

I Abdulov, the kingdom of heaven to him, managed to sell the perfume "Fahrenheit". Well, who then did not know the artist Abdulov by sight? Everyone knew. And I knew. And he believed that the artist automatically means "a rich man." When I got older, I realized how right I was! (Laughs.) In general, the artist walked past Intourist on his own business, and I ran up to him, portrayed the holy fool, began to whine: "Alexander, please, well, we need money very much!" There were a lot of us there, but he paid attention only to me and bought a perfume as a result.

With father Viktor Vladimirovich and mother Elena Nikolaevna (1982). Photo: From the personal archive of Nikolai Baskov

I had a nickname - Artist. When I was 11 years old, I did become an artist - I got into the Children's Musical Theater of a Young Actor, which was then directed by Sasha Fedorov (he is still there, recently they celebrated the 30th anniversary of the theater). Many wonderful guys graduated from these walls, and I remember that time with pleasure. So, as soon as I got there, Sasha immediately said: “Kolya, you will become an artist. I don't know who you will become, maybe a singer, maybe a dramatic actor, but you definitely have talent. "

At the Theater of the Young Actor (1988). Photo: From the personal archive of Nikolai Baskov

We went on tour a lot - both across the country and abroad. This nomadic life did not raise any questions for me: I am the son of an officer, and since my father was never a parquet officer, we went through all the garrisons from Germany to Tuva. But Sasha still remembers with a laugh the performances that I performed before leaving on tour. Mom escorts me to the train. Stands on the platform. I lean my forehead against the glass and roar excitedly, straight from my heart. Mom outside the window, of course, also cries, Sasha, looking at all this, he almost roars. The train starts to move, and as soon as my mother is out of sight, the flow of tears immediately turns off, my face instantly dries up, and I, turning to Sasha, already quite calmly, rub my hands happily and say: “Sasha, my mother put sweets there, come on- let's get started. " He wondered how an 11-year-old child could play the grief of parting like that.

Once my talent saved our overseas tours. It was in the 1980s, we were a lot of children, accompanied by Sasha. He, as always, let everyone go ahead, and he himself was the last one. All the children showed their passports, passed, and he was told: "Stop, we won't let you in!" Something was wrong with him. Sasha begins to rush: "Comrade Major, let me go, I have 25 children there, how can they leave without me ?!" But the border guard is adamant. And then I understand that it's time. The concert began. I threw myself at the officer, I threw myself on the floor, I sobbed, jerked with all my limbs, howled at the entire airport: "Please let our dad go with us, we will die of hunger without him, we will be lost without him." Believe it or not, they missed us! And as soon as we were out of sight of the border guards, I, who a second before that was pounding in hysterics, suddenly took Sasha's hand and said in a casual tone: "Well, where do they give them something tasty here?"

About Irina Allegrova and her refrigerator

I have a duet with Irina Allegrova. I love her very much, recently I was with my parents at her concert in Vitebsk. And I was amazed how the audience greeted her and how the song "My Wanderer" sang in chorus. Irina did not utter a word, she only conducted from the stage, and the audience sang in a single impulse. And if they ask me what a "hit" is, I will say that this is the song "Wanderer", which the people sing from beginning to end without the participation of the singer herself. I repeat, I very highly value her professionalism, but when I see Irina, I remember only one thing at once - her refrigerator.

Photo: From the personal archive of Nikolai Baskov

Once I came to visit her for a party, there were many guests. Irina is an amazing hostess and loves to cook. Her house has a chic kitchen, a wild amount of dishes, various newfangled lotions. And her refrigerator is a full-fledged room with a sealed door and shelves extending beyond the horizon. What carried me into this refrigerator? Don't ask! In general, I went in there, and the door closed. And there is no way to open it from the inside. I am sitting in this icy room, screaming - naturally, no one hears me. The mobile does not take there. After about half an hour, the people at the table in the living room became agitated: "Something has become painfully quiet, someone is missing." They began to find out: “And where is the Basque? He didn't say goodbye, did he? They went to look for me and it was completely decided that I dumped in English, but they found my shoes in the hallway. We began to go around the whole house more methodically and found me in this refrigerator. How Ira swore at me - beyond the words: "How did you manage?" It turned out that you can actually open the door from the inside, but on that very day something broke and stuck there. For half an hour, barefoot and lightly dressed, I sat in this refrigerator and still feel cold at the thought of what would have happened if they had not found my shoes in the corridor.

About Alla Borisovna and diamonds

Another duet, which I dreamed of for a long time and which I managed to record, is with Alla Borisovna Pugacheva. At “Christmas Meetings” we sang the song “Let's be friends with you” with her. Alla Borisovna was my guiding star, in my youth I earned a living performing her songs in a restaurant. So, once I was looking for a gift for Alla for an anniversary. I thought that I would give her something original. And then a novelty appeared in Moscow - a diamond cleaner. Everyone was chasing her, a terrible deficit. And I decided: here is a worthy gift for Alla. I got myself into a cake - I found it! I came to the anniversary proud - of course, such an original gift! Alla accepted it, turned it over in her hands and said: “Wow, he gives Rotaru diamonds, and me a machine for cleaning diamonds. I hope that next anniversary you will give me something that you can put there to clean. "

Photo: From the personal archive of Nikolai Baskov

About Joseph Kobzon

Joseph Davydovich was a standard for me, a model of how to help people. There will never be a second such person. He helped in everything - from going on stage to the funeral. I remember an amazing story. I was invited to perform in some kind of group concert. I was still completely green, I had no name, no one offered me money for this performance either, but I was flattered just to perform. I stood behind the curtains and shook with horror. Joseph Davydovich walked by me, patted me on the shoulder and said: “It's good that you're afraid. There is nothing worse than going on stage indifferently. " It was very important for me to hear it at that moment. I went out, sang a song, all wet with fear returned backstage, and Kobzon gives me $ 200 - then a lot of money for me. I was amazed, I asked: "Why?" And he replies: “Remember, every work must be paid. Only birds sing for free ”. I spent the dollars then, but if I knew how my life would turn out further, I would have kept these two bills as a talisman.

About mysticism and Montserrat Caballe

There was one more incident that I remember for the rest of my life. Sasha Fedorov and I and several other guys traveled around Europe and somewhere at a dock at one of the airports we slept on things in the departure hall, waiting for the flight. Sasha later said that Montserrat Caballe was walking past us. And I have been a fan of her since childhood. And then she stops beside me. He puts his hand on my head and says: "What a good boy!" It was a sign, otherwise you will not say.

And a little later I had a dream: I was sitting in the lobby of the Savoy Hotel and holding notes in my hands. And I see Montserrat and José Carreras coming down the stairs. She suddenly, without saying anything, takes my notes and begins to edit them. Many years later I met Montserrat: she was looking for a tenor for a duet in Russia, my producer sent her materials, and she chose me. Blindly, just hearing a voice. At the first rehearsal, I went up to meet her, and she ... took the sheet music from me and began to edit them. I had a stupor! She says something to me, but I cannot answer, because it was already with me! So tell me that there are no miracles ...

With Montserrat Caballe (2001). Photo: Global Look Press

I owe a great deal to Montserrat. And not only because I performed with her at the best venues in Europe. She taught me a vocal technique, thanks to which I can work two and a half hours live. I remember her master class in Zaragoza, Spain. One of the exercises, for example, was this: you had to lie on the floor on your back, they put a 16-kilogram barbell pancake on your diaphragm, and you had to breathe in a certain way with this pancake on your chest. It was very difficult. But it allows me to work out a concert today, even if I'm sick or tired. And the audience will not notice that I am not in the voice.

Travel adventures

One day we will land in Madrid. Madrid airport is one of the largest in the world. From the point of arrival to the place of collecting your luggage, you take 18 minutes by train. We had to transfer to Moscow, and we ran along with the whole team at this airport. And suddenly behind my back there was a cry: "Nikola-ah-ah!" I look around - a woman of my mother's age is running towards me. "Do I know you! - shouts. - Here you are definitely Russian and definitely to Moscow! Please, I'll be lost here! I do not understand where to go and where is our gate. Take me with you!" She grabbed the hem of my jeans with both hands and followed me all the way to the Moscow flight. I couldn't leave her.

But not everyone reacts to me that way. I remember that in 2009 I received the title of People's Artist and went to the people - on a tour of cities and villages. I had 13 concerts in the largest Russian cities, and Russian Railways gave me a VIP-personalized carriage, which was all scheduled: "Nikolay Baskov", "Ship of Fate", "All-Russian Tour". This carriage was interconnected in each city to another train, we drove to the next city, gave a concert there, and in this way we drove to Vladivostok. All returned from there plus 9 kg. Because for several weeks all we did was sit and eat. What else to do? There is no connection, the passes are long, there is no solid ground underfoot either. Moreover, the change of time zones. Somewhere to Omsk, we have already ceased to understand where we are and whether it is possible to call Moscow without waking my mother.

And then one night, somewhere beyond the Sayan Mountains, a long parking lot. And I suggest that ours go out and at least just stand on the ground, not hearing the sound of the wheels. I came out in such a way that at some fashion award I would certainly have received the title of "Person of the Year" for this bow. I was wearing white disposable slippers (these are usually given in hotels), worn over black socks, shorts, a T-shirt and an Armani coat thrown over my shoulders. And on his head, disheveled hair. We were standing near the carriage, we saw a woman in an orange vest walking along the train and tapping the wheels. He walks, bending low, reaches us, rests his head against me, sees my hotel slippers. Slowly looks up - shorts, coat, hair. And at the same time I stand in the light of a lantern, as if on a stage. And she crosses herself in a big way and says: "It's time to stop drinking!" He leans over to his wheels again and walks away, tapping them. Of course, if she walked smoothly, she would have paid attention to the cars with my photographs and realized that this is me, alive and real, despite thousands of kilometers from Moscow and a strange appearance at three in the morning. But she was busy with wheels, and who knows, maybe later, after this meeting with me, she quit drinking ...

Photo: From the personal archive of Nikolai Baskov

About the album "I Believe"

In October, there will be a presentation on iTunes of my album entitled "I Believe". We made the album "I Believe" for a very long time. It all started with the fact that I saw the poetry of the beautiful poet Irina Lebedeva, who writes on religious themes, and several works touched me to the depths of my soul. I decided to create songs on them. It is interesting that the music for the symphony orchestra was written by fashionable authors - Seryozha Revtov, Lesha Romanov - composers whose songs, besides me, are sung by Philip Kirkorov, Bilan, Stas Mikhailov, Alsu, Zara, Anna Semenovich and others, and whose hits are now spinning on everyone radio stations. However, we did not come to a result that would suit everyone right away. There were pieces that I rewrote several times, I didn't like the way it sounded, I didn't like the arrangement. But as a result, everything worked out.

Several years ago, I didn't even think that I could get such an album. But everything is changing. I realized that our life is divided into periods, and in each of these periods, something that you never thought of before becomes important. I am a baptized person, I have always been and remain a believer, but I also had to go a certain way and do a certain spiritual work. And on October 9, I went to this for a very long time. You know, there are meetings that are given from above. On your life path, people suddenly appear with whom you may never meet again, but they are given to you in order to convey to you some idea, some understanding. So, once in a church somewhere in the outback, I met an elderly priest, and he said to me these words: “People do not know how to go to church, they go there, as if to an order table, with a list: I want this, give me this ... And it’s also good if, in the end, a person even remembers that he needs to light a candle to God and thank him for everything that he already has. People forget that in Orthodoxy there is a concept - a thanksgiving candle to the Lord for his good deeds. This is when a person comes to church and does not ask for anything, he just came to thank him for the fact that he has a roof over his head, that his parents are alive, that he has a job, that he is loved, that he is needed and in demand. And that's all. He put down a candle and leaves, without saying a single word: "Give!"

This priest very clearly formulated what I had felt for a long time, but could not express in words. I've thought about this a lot. And, perhaps, he began to look at life a little more correctly. We really live like that - we whine all the time, we have not enough, we were not given something all the time, they offended us, they didn’t say that, they didn’t let us in somewhere, everything is not so and everything is not right. And I woke up one day and realized that I didn't want to do this anymore. And for several years now I have lived in a different way: I wake up, I get up, I thank God that I got up and that this day has begun. Now I understand that certain thoughts correspond to each age, and such an understanding of life could not come to me at 25, I had to go a certain path, including losses and hardships, in order to learn to appreciate what you have. And now I live with this thought.

Simultaneously with the presentation of the album, on October 9, my concert will take place in the Kremlin. This will be a large-scale event - 160 people will appear on the stage, a symphony orchestra conducted by Yuri Medyanik and a choir named after Sveshnikov. This event will be unique - I do not plan to repeat it or carry it around the country. I dream of playing a concert once, filming it, and let it go down in history. This is not a commercial enterprise, I do not make money on it. I need to sing songs to the audience, and I do it, first of all, for myself, for my soul.

This week, the singer will celebrate his birthday - he will turn 41 years old. Now the artist is touring the country with a new show "Game". And he also performs on his birthday - in Baku. Woman`s Day found out how Nikolai managed to lose so much weight, rejuvenate in such a short time, and who will sing at his future wedding with Victoria Lopyreva.

"It's time to grow up, but I don't feel like I'm 41"

Nikolay, on October 15 you will turn 41 years old ...

Yes. Better 31 (laughs).

In his Instagram, Baskov posted a photo before and after losing weight and wrote: "If you set a goal for yourself and gradually go towards it, then you will definitely achieve it !!!"

It can be said that half of my life has passed. How do you feel about your age?

For me - a quarter of life, I'm going to die at 120! By the way, I haven't celebrated 40 years. According to numerology, when the number "0" is present in a year, it means emptiness and the formation of something new. My mother - a very dear and important person in my life - said that 40 years is a big internal restructuring. And yes, I have an internal struggle with myself, the feeling that I, as an artist, need a reboot. Almost all 17 years that I have been on stage, I associate with a holiday person who sings funny, light songs. Therefore, I want to move away from a huge number of all sorts of TV shows, programs, in the future to filter my appearances in concerts, because some kind of inner has accumulated ... not fatigue, no. But I need time to jump into something further fun.

It's probably time to grow up. But I cannot grow up, it always seems to me that I am a young boy who has just started his career. I don’t understand at all how 17 years passed ... I don’t feel that I am 41. By my state of mind, I’m probably 26-27 years old. And, thank God, lately I don't look 41 years old. Recently I met with my classmates (laughs) ... I was asked what I drink for my youth.

Tell us the secret, what do you drink for youth? How did you manage to get in such great shape in a short time?

I have a personal trainer who works with me in terms of physical fitness. He is a nutritionist and massage therapist, in a word, a person who corrects me. It is difficult for the body to withstand our ecology and stressful regime. Therefore, I participate in the program of the Academy of Gerontology in St. Petersburg. Thanks to the sanctions, our science does not stand still. Petersburg scientists have achieved certain successes. Their innovation is a complex of drugs that I have experienced myself: these are capsules with a solution of natural vitamins, amino acids and peptides. And a cream on the same base. I liked the result: fatigue goes away quickly, energy appears. I even decided to release a special set of products based on these three components, it will be called "Energy star" - Energy star. You will see him on my Instagram soon. The cost will be normal as it is manufactured overseas.

I continue to cooperate with the Academy of Gerontology - many influential people, politicians apply there, they give IV drips, take medications, but they hide it.

"Vika told me:" I will not sing "

Nikolay, your fiancée Victoria Lopyreva sang recently - at the New Wave competition. Do you give her vocal lessons?

Well, no, she won't sing, it was pure fan. Although I like the way Vika sings, I generally always like it when the girls who are next to me are engaged in creativity. Vika told me categorically: “I won't sing! I am an ambassador for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, host, TV presenter, model, so no. You will sing. "

On "New Wave" Victoria sang with other singers

Several years ago, I know Victoria asked you to perform at her wedding ...

No, she wanted me to lead her wedding. And on those dates when she called and called me, I was busy. In general, you know, everything is so unpredictable, I can honestly tell you! Sometimes you don't know what awaits you around the corner ... It's so interesting to live. At the same time, live, not paying attention to anything - not to sharp comments, or to discussions of your plans. When in Malakhov's program "Live" my mother explained why the date of our wedding with Vika was postponed, the headlines in the media were very funny! I am already very resistant to this pressure. But I can say: live the way you want. This is your life, no one will give you the next day. Let them discuss you, believe it or not, and you do what is good for you. This is the lot of us, public people, we bring a topic for conversation into the life of every person.

Nikolay Baskov and Victoria Lopyreva in the program "Live" at Malakhov admitted that the wedding was postponed

"Some do not understand why I am on stage in a dress."

Tell us about your show, which you are currently touring the cities with.

This is not just a show, but a theatrical costume performance. About 2 million euros were spent on it: these are 4 trucks of scenery, 72 people serve the show, all the costumes are exclusive, sewn in one copy according to the sketches of two wonderful fashion designers - Valentin Yudashkin and Vladimir Seredin. I know that it took about 80 thousand rhinestones to create them. Some were made in France at the costumes for Game of Thrones. One of the costumes - Prince Calaf from the opera "Turandot" - about two meters, weighs almost 40 kilograms. And technically equipped so that during the song fans and muzzles of dragons with glowing eyes emerge from it.

And in the song "Wanderer" in the background there is a battle of gladiators. Once I was so contemplated how they were fighting, and forgot that I had to sing. Opening his mouth, he stood and thought: I wonder if he will hit him with a sword or not (laughs).

The Game Show is not just a collection of songs, but a specific story. One of the outstanding directors Alexei Sechin, who made the Olympics and the Universiade, worked on it. I told him that I want to play in different eras. The variants of the name were different - "Time Travel", "Fantasy". We decided to keep historical facts from my creative biography - certain songs in certain images. For example, the image of the Emperor, in which I received the Golden Gramophone in 2012. The show features multi-genre music: popular, classical, operetta, and buffoonery.

The show is so expensive that it does not cover the costs, it is not profitable. But as an artist I have created such a brainchild that will leave its mark. This is what I can be proud of today. It left no one indifferent. After my concert, Maxim Fadeev wrote that he had never seen anything more grandiose. In the Kremlin, there was a standing ovation in the middle of the concert. It was revealing for me how my girlfriends dragged their husbands to this show. They resisted: "No, the Basque ... Okay, we'll serve the first department and leave." But no (banging his fist on the table) - Basque won! People stayed until the end.

Prince Calaf's costume from the opera "Turandot" weighs 40 kilos!

The main character of the show is Mask. What does it mean to you?

The show is called "The Game" because we all play, we put on masks. So you come to an interview - and put on the mask of a journalist, come home - put on the mask of either a loving wife or a bitch. All people play, probably, we are most natural when we are left alone with ourselves.

The mask is a manifestation of my inner self. The first part of the show is brilliance and pomp. The second part is romance, the third is real theater (operetta and opera). The fourth part - the triumph of strength and power - the Roman Empire. The fifth part is a natural blonde, a person in love with himself. And the sixth block is a mask of triumph, in which I go out at the end to the audience.

Our people are very caustic in comments and, without going into the reasons why I appear on the throne in a bright suit, and I have an imperial crown on my head, they believe that Basque has completely gone headlong - put on a dress. They do not understand that this is a fragment from Puccini's opera Turandot, where Prince Calaf sings his famous aria. And the imperial costume in China is just a long dress. And only understanding people wrote that "it was amazing to plunge into the atmosphere of the opera."

Nikolai Baskov is a Russian pop and opera singer (tenor), film actor, TV presenter, teacher, professor. People's Artist of Ukraine, Master of Arts of Moldova. People's Artist of Russia. Tenfold winner of the Golden Gramophone award.

M.MITROFANOVA: I welcome Nikolai Baskov to the studio.

N. BASKOV: Rita, good evening.

M. MITROFANOVA: I found the time, thank you very much. I'll read it to our listeners now, it's just hard to remember. Russian pop and opera singer (tenor), film actor, TV presenter, teacher, professor. Especially I say with respect this word "professor", because I recently received a second degree. People's Artist of Russia and ten-time winner of the Golden Gramophone award. Kohl, well, what can I say, by the age of 40, in my opinion, it's cool.

N. BASKOV: Not enough.

M. MITROFANOVA: Yes? You think?

N. BASKOV: Well, partly, of course, we all always want something even more, we do not have time to do something.

M. MITROFANOVA: Are you sure? You were sitting right in the kindergarten on this little chair, with your feet in socks, chatting in Czech shoes.

N. BASKOV: You know, you understand how after 30 life runs forward and you think that maybe you didn't have time for something, maybe you should have gone somewhere else or something else implement. And then you realize that you don't have time for everything. On the other hand, you understand that 40 is the most wonderful age when you are already an accomplished, mature person, and you know what you need, how you need it. And I hope that after 40 it will be some kind of new discovery of myself, a new artist, a new Baskov, some new, maybe, image and some new direction.

M. MITROFANOVA: Well, you know, we cannot hide from our listeners for so long that October 15 is your birthday, your 40th birthday. And for men this is a really big date, so impressive. Although people associated with art, creativity, music, well, really do not get old. Well, I'm even on my own, I'm already 50 soon, and I'm still running.

N. BASKOV: Enough, don't scare me.

M. MITROFANOVA: Well, what am I leading to? Very much, I called it very familiarly to you in a text message “commotion” of the pre-holiday, festive, but you have a huge, big, solid concert in the State Kremlin Palace. What I wanted to say for the listeners, personal information, is that I called Kolya before this interview today, and he did not pick up the phone. And suddenly, a few minutes later, he writes: I'll call you back, I'm at the rehearsal. That is, I was shocked that it was a sign of courtesy and maybe you didn't even know that this was my number, of course.

N. BASKOV: No, why.

M. MITROFANOVA: Did you know I was on your list?

N. BASKOV: Of course.

M. MITROFANOVA: Well, in general, I was so pleased. So I will honestly say that you found this second to send me a message that you are busy. Tell me what are you cooking and what will it be? So that we all go crazy here.

N. BASKOV: Well, "Vesti" on "Russia" has already told about this, they gave me three whole minutes in the program of Sergei Brylev, which was unexpected for me. Because it really ...

M. MITROFANOVA: Did he even smile at the end?

N. BASKOV: He smiled and said that, like, maybe I'll go. The concert is truly incredible in its scale because it is a theatrical performance. This is done by the director, whom I have been waiting for a long time, this is Alexei Sechenov, this is the Universiade, this is the MUZ-TV Prize, this is the hallmark of the Olympics, the person who has embodied all my ideas and dreams. That is, both the transformer stage, and the unique 300 costumes, sewn for extras, and reincarnation into different images, worlds change, this is the unknown Galaxy, these are Chinese emperors, and the Sun King.

M. MITROFANOVA: And what is the general storyline?

N. BASKOV: The storyline is the main mask that guides me through all the shows, and it represents different states of the human soul. When he is successful, he is a winner, he is romantic, he is a holiday, and at the same time, he is a person in himself. I decided to frame all the songs that were chosen for this concert in some specific action. An action that looks more like ... Since the concert will contain everything - both classics, pop music, and operetta, that is, everything related to what I can talk to myself about, what I can show the viewer. All this is unique in terms of the achievements of modern technologies. I fly there, and fly away, and leave, and in one of the scenes there are almost 60 people on the stage. That is, it is truly such a grandiose performance.

M. MITROFANOVA: How many hours have you planned?

N. BASKOV: Two offices, 1 hour 10 - the first, 1 hour 10 - the second.

M. MITROFANOVA: How many songs? How did you choose the classic part? So I just subscribed to you on Instagram, and, of course, the last impression on me strong is your exit with superstars Netrebko and her husband.

N. BASKOV: Yusif Eyvazov. Yes, they pulled me out, I am friends with them. I was sitting at a concert and suddenly they told me, at the end of the hall, and the audience began to applaud: “Come out, come out!”. Well, I went out without singing, nothing, sang.

M. MITROFANOVA: It just read in the comments: "Nikolay, what a pity that you rarely pay attention to the classics." What part did you do in the concert?

N. BASKOV: This will also be a chapter.

M. MITROFANOVA: And what are the arias?

N. BASKOV: There will be "In Memory of Caruso", there will be Adagio Albinoni, there will be an aria of Mister X, and a fragment of the second act of Puccini's opera "Turandot" will be really made in modern processing. That is, I will be singing Kalaf's famous aria "Nesun Dorma".

M. MITROFANOVA: Oh, "Nesun Dorma", and everyone has goosebumps. Yes, these are great words. Do not try to repeat this at home and in karaoke, because only professionals can perform it, and at the highest level. Kohl, presenting another chapter of your concert, let's talk about it, and then the available minimum about your life. Because, in principle, now all the media can wipe their nose, in fact, the stars themselves spread their travels and adventures about themselves, so here it is already "pale", it is available everywhere.

N. BASKOV: Well, yes, if people follow you, they are interested in what you do, what kind of life you lead. Therefore, yes, the media gradually, it turns out, is getting harder and harder.

M.MITROFANOVA: Well, speaking about the musical side, we want, of course, to put on the air some song of yours, and what would you choose and in what part of the program will this song be?

N. BASKOV: Well, you know that I am a holiday person, I really love the audience, I love performing and for me the most important thing is that I really feel pleasure from what. I, since this song is playing everywhere now, it is very popular, this is probably the song "I Will Hug You". I want to hug every listener we currently have at Mayak.

M. MITROFANOVA: Well, well, this song is on the air. Well, well, here is such a number performed by Nikolai Baskov, this is the song "I Will Hug You". Kohl, and I also marked such a thing for myself after you answered me by text message. The word "vanity", is it generally familiar to you, is your attitude to this phenomenon also known? Is it a human defect or a feature, or is it congenital? It's just that there are different people.

N. BASKOV: No, it seems to me that vanity is completely absent in our country, because we say ...

M. MITROFANOVA: In humans?

N. BASKOV: Well, show business, we have neither show nor business, this is purely a story of survival, it seems to me, in our conditions, we are not Western stars. We try to crawl around in some of our possibilities, which we want to somehow throw out, and, most likely, we do this, first of all, within the framework of opportunities for ourselves, in order to get some kind of pleasure from this, probably. Because after a while, you know, it happens that I sit at home, get all my works, concerts or something else, and I understand that what happiness, that I did it at the age of 20, I did it in 30 years old, this is 35, because you look at some things and think, probably, this recklessness could have played in this direction precisely in my youth, now I would not allow myself to do this and would not repeat it. What about vanity? No, it seems to me, well, what kind of vanity is there? Vanity in our country can only be a principle of some kind of bad taste.

M. MITROFANOVA: Okay, great point in the middle of the conversation. Kolya Baskov nevertheless found time to come to us at Mayak.

N. BASKOV: How I like that you call me Kolya.

M. MITROFANOVA: Yes? Doesn't that bother you?

N. BASKOV: I am not.

M. MITROFANOVA: After all, you are 40.

N. BASKOV: But look how I look.

M. MITROFANOVA: Yes, that's the point. This familiarity, it was not for nothing that I asked about vanity in the previous part, about, perhaps, arrogance. He finds such a thing on you, you know, just the word "stardom" I'm afraid to even use. I know you in real life, and you communicate with me very well.

N. BASKOV: This is not for me at all. No, it doesn't suit me at all. I am more amazed at the people I meet on my way, who really sometimes, due to undetected self-sufficiency, try to somehow show pompousness in relation to other people. Sometimes this happens to artists.

M. MITROFANOVA: Does money give such an opportunity to behave like that?

N. BASKOV: Well, maybe other people are given, but it seems to me that the most important thing in our life is health, over the years you begin to understand this, moreover, with so many planes, crossings, lack of sleep, filming, interviews, and it is necessary to maintain oneself in excellent physical shape. Indeed, our profession is a profession for wear and tear, and then the viewer does not care what state you are in, what is happening at home or inside you, you must always correspond to a certain halo of some or some representation of the artist. Therefore, it seems to me that ...

M. MITROFANOVA: Well, you put yourself in such conditions. A holiday man is just not given like that, you know ...

N. BASKOV: I enjoy it, why, I enjoy it. For me, humor and positive are the most important things in life, I have never set myself any goals. I do everything as it goes with the flow, you know, and do not pay attention to what they may say about me, someone does not like something or someone brings some kind of criticism to my work, or something else. I always say, "Do something yourself."

M. MITROFANOVA: I absolutely agree with this. And, most importantly, perhaps, talking about some kind of happiness and the fact that you have taken place as a professional, that you are always doing your favorite thing, and you started it from childhood. I do not know, the current generation, it is, of course, different. What do you think of him? Where are you from? Now you are a grown-up guy, 40 years old.

N. BASKOV: Do you know what I like about the current generation?

M. MITROFANOVA: Where do we measure it from, which ones? Who is 20 now?

N. BASKOV: Well, yes, let's imagine that they are 20. We still have these inclinations that we somehow think about the future, we somehow try to coordinate ourselves, make some plans. And it seems to me that modern youth, they absolutely do not think about any consequences.

M. MITROFANOVA: Pensions.

N. BASKOV: And not in pensions, no, they just live the way they want to live today, recklessly. Someone was lucky, someone had parents. You know, there is such an anecdote when a very rich man rides in a taxi and he says: "That's so much." He gives him exactly the counter. He says: "But your son leaves me $ 100 for tea." He says: "Well, my son is the son of a millionaire, and I am a poor relative."

M. MITROFANOVA: It is very similar to the truth. Well, this makes us somehow sad. It is always typical for adults to build them a little, to try to educate them. We have people around us who help us. For example, you have dressers, PR specialists, well, just advice is given by people around, assistants.

N. BASKOV: I would say that this is my body. The organism that functions with me, and how I would like them all to function as healthy organs that ...

M. MITROFANOVA: Well, are you chasing them?

N. BASKOV: No, you know, I just love them. It all depends on how they treat me, and how they feel the extent of their responsibility. In any case, these are people, and they either have to love their job, or not.

M. MITROFANOVA: And they should also love you, because this is a human relationship, and you are a creative person.

N. BASKOV: Well, I think that they work with me, first of all, not only because they receive a salary, they work because they like working with me.

M. MITROFANOVA: This is important in show business, in the very one over which we always make fun of and put such airy quotes. I recently didn’t even donate money at a meeting, or I didn’t come to my parents ’meeting at school, and I write:" Sucked in show business. " And my mothers all answered: "I see." That was funny. That is, they are sympathetic to this, which is real in our country if it sucks ...

N. BASKOV: Insane asylum, I think. Because sms come in: "What do you have on December 20?", "What do you have in March 2017?" This all starts, and you no longer understand, I say: "I will call the director back, I will take a look." Somehow we already live in some way, got on a high-speed train, probably, and rush without stopping.

M. MITROFANOVA: Listen, tell me, if we pause music, can we try to put it in your performance on the recording of “Nesun Dorma”? How do you feel about this?

N. BASKOV: Yes, I have it in my archives, it must be obligatory.

M. MITROFANOVA: This is literally one and a half or two minutes maximum, but this is a great work that takes us to those worlds, but, on the other hand, people have not changed and passions are still boiling. Kolya's 40th anniversary threatens, how do you approach this holiday? And tell me, can I have the first toast to my parents right now?

N. BASKOV: You know, a man does not celebrate 40 years, as they say.

M. MITROFANOVA: Let Bondarchuk not celebrate this.

N. BASKOV: But they say that on this day you can definitely congratulate your mother. Of course, for me, my parents are my dearest people, my guardian angels, I am madly in love with my parents. Despite the fact that they are so worried that even when they come to my concert, they sit somewhere far away so as not to feel their involvement in the fact that ...

M. MITROFANOVA: You are the son of a millionaire, and they are poor relatives.

N. BASKOV: Yes. Takes place on stage. Parents, they say, are not chosen, and I thank God for the fact that it is my parents who are for me, first of all, very understanding, very deep people, and, most importantly, they support me in everything, and in those the right actions, and not in the right turns of my destiny. But, probably, this is the most important thing, because over the years you understand how much you yourself then look at certain things or actions differently. And I am pleased that parents for me are some kind of inner concern. I always want to take care of someone. Apart from the people around me. And caring for my parents in me causes some kind of pleasure in the fact that, probably, this is exactly what I have taken place so that I can really bring joy to my parents.

M. MITROFANOVA: Well, do they somehow express this to you? Well, my mother, of course, can kiss you to the blisters.

N. BASKOV: You know, we do it. My father also hugs me, my mother hugs me, it’s kind of accepted in my family since childhood, because my mother always told me when we lived, for example, I remember at school, and I didn’t have something there, the same knapsack, like someone else's, it was my mother who always said to me: “Son, I love you so much that you cannot imagine, no one loves you like that. And this knapsack, perhaps, you do not need as much as you need my love. "

M. MITROFANOVA: That is, she tried you especially in difficult times.

N. BASKOV: With spiritual qualities.

M. MITROFANOVA: Well, do you communicate with them?

N. BASKOV: Of course you are. It happens that, of course, we do not always see each other, but they either escort me to the airport or meet me at the airport. For example, right now, when New Wave and Yumorina were in Sochi, the Rossiya channel was filming, and my parents came with me to see me on stage. We went to lunch and dinner together, well, that is, such family weeks.

M. MITROFANOVA: That's just the point, I became so sentimental when I became a mother. It used to be rock, there is rock, but now I can directly imagine how your mother sits and looks, this is my son. It seems to me that she cries like that from time to time with happiness, well, maybe I don’t know, I think so, I would do that.

N. BASKOV: It happens that, yes, it happens to cry when it begins to take root in the details of my creative life. She sometimes likes some songs, and I sing other songs, and she takes it all so very close to her heart.

M. MITROFANOVA: You know, such a question, well, I don’t know how to fill it up. I recently prepared a program about Sophia Loren, and she has two sons. And, can you imagine, these guys, handsome, well, your age somewhere.

N. BASKOV: One of them is a conductor.

M. MITROFANOVA: Yes, and the second one is bald. So, can you imagine, they say: "And my mother is Sophia Loren." So it's actually a concrete slab falling on you. I'm just leading to idols. Do you have such people? Here you have, like Nikolai Baskov, an honored artist ...

N. BASKOV: People's.

M. MITROFANOVA: People's Artist, forgive me, I know this is important, the difference is big. And you, like Kolya Baskov, like a common man of the Earth, do you have such?

N. BASKOV: We all have idols, Rit, and we are equal. Well, since, after all, I have already lived a certain number of years and indeed all my tastes and priorities have changed. It's one thing, I looked at some stars at 15, 20, 25, and now, truly, every fate of any artist is unique. And the artist's path is incredible. Therefore, in my youth, I really had such idols as Mario Lanza, Maria Callas, and Pavarotti, and Montserrat Caballe, with whom I, Pavarotti and Caballe were able to communicate. And, of course, this is Pugacheva, this is Rotaru, this and my, as they say, eternal rival, Philip Kirkorov, on whose songs I partly grew up. No, these are all people who do not follow an easy road, not an easy way, and they deserve admiration and respect.

M. MITROFANOVA: Absolutely. You know, can I tell you a micro-story too? Recently I was browsing the Instagram network, it is addictive, yes, and then I posted my photo with a child, well, my daughter, and it was "liked" by Christina Orbakaite. And it says right there. You know, I had it straight: what do you mean, Christina is subscribed to my Instagram. This feeling, well, I felt so good. And my husband says: "Yes, she is the same person as you."

N. BASKOV: Yes, we are all such people.

M. MITROFANOVA: Yes, yes. And therefore, for people who, by the way, consider themselves simple, who are not on stage, not in show business, it seems to me, you should never consider yourself as someone else.

N. BASKOV: We are artists only on stage, when we go out to dominate the audience, as orators do it or as others. And as soon as you left the stage, nothing, the same people, like everyone else.

M. MITROFANOVA: And just about our media with you and these Instagram, there you post what is happening to you, your friends or Kolya Tsiskaridze, or girls, or here's a pretty girl, very pretty.

N. BASKOV: Sophie? Yes.

M. MITROFANOVA: And there you can see what is happening to you. And you make the signatures very ironic, funny. How free are you in this? Does it bind you or, on the contrary, do you control what to do there?

N. BASKOV: No, I like it, I post different photos, and I just watch how, well, people are interested, maybe, to follow my movement, my thoughts. In general, I am glad that recently technology has made such a step forward that we are becoming more accessible. Of course, sometimes they are offended by some comments that you do not know these people, and they will write something to you there. And sometimes, you know, they will write some such shit, and you go in and think, and I will look at the Instagram of this person who wrote to me, you look and think: God, how in general ... I remember one man once wrote to me: “What- then your face will crack soon. " I go to him on Instagram, and he is 140 kilograms in general. Well, I wrote to him: "Not yet before yours."

M. MITROFANOVA: Imagine, and then he went nuts, what did you say to him, paid attention. Well, of course, there are many spiteful critics.

N. BASKOV: Oh, no, I wrote: "Until yours is still growing and growing."

M. MITROFANOVA: Oh, really. As for human feelings, we remembered the ancient Turandot, when she lived, damn it when, but people do not change, the same passions, envy, anger, hatred. Tell me, what you absolutely do not tolerate categorically around you and people? I understand, working in show business, especially in domestic, well, you can't take off these masks, you have to be diplomatic.

N. BASKOV: I don't like greedy people very much and, you know, I don't like slippery people. Here are slippery people, I do not understand these people, I can never communicate when I feel that a person is doing all this because of something, somehow, for some reason. Maybe even such a quality as betrayal I do not like in people. I like people who openly express their thoughts and their emotions. If they don't like me, they don't like me, and if they like me, they love me.

M. MITROFANOVA: That is, you treat people and want the same attitude, this is an equation.

N. BASKOV: Yes.

M. MITROFANOVA: Treat people the way you want them to treat you. But is it difficult for you in general in these open spaces?

N. BASKOV: Difficult, because you never know the true true face of people in relation to you.

M. MITROFANOVA: Well, this is because you, this scene, these outfits, masks, all this, that is, it is not clear who, what, what he wants from you.

N. BASKOV: No, well, just most often such legends are created, people start talking to you and start telling some fables, all of this is overgrown with some, you know, huge flakes of rumors or something else. Sometimes you are amazed that you seemed to be sitting with a person, talking to him, talking openly, as it were, and then you find out that he starts talking about you somewhere and with what epithets.

M. MITROFANOVA: Were there any cases when you, well, not just expressing your opinion like this, but directly, you know, maybe giving advice? After all, there is a rule, if you are not asked, you do not give advice. But of course, there are some friends, if you want someone good.

N. BASKOV: You know, I am from the category of those people when, for example, if they tell me some thing about someone, I am not shy, I call and want to ask if this is really so or not ... Because it often turns out that because we listen to what others tell us, we completely forget that it may, in fact, be untrue. Therefore, I always try to find out any situation. I do not like to be in conflict with people, I like to always sort out some moments that can burden the relationship.

M. MITROFANOVA: How do you rest? Now you have the most, well, such a very stressful time. Is that really what you really mean?

N. BASKOV: Two things are a dream.

M. MITROFANOVA: Okay. Are you snoring?

N. BASKOV: No, it seems. Nobody complained. Basically, I love solitary vacations. I like to leave for 5-7 days somewhere on the sea or on the ocean to be alone, read books, watch some TV shows, and just lie in the room, not go anywhere and just feel completely liberated from everything.

M. MITROFANOVA: By the way, you remembered the books well. And in my eyes, you know, I recently read an interview with Tanya Drubich, she says that Pushkin, well, it is she, in her words, Pushkin, when he was shot, our great poet, he lies, he already understood that ... in general , lies in his office, where he was brought after the duel, and says to the books: "Goodbye, friends." I just imagined it. Can you imagine how he appreciated books. That is, you have a little time?

N. BASKOV: Yes. Well, no, sometimes you have to, you know, re-read a lot. Because I remember the school curriculum, when you read something, and now, you even perceive Anna Karenina differently, even those feelings and those moments, they are different.

M. MITROFANOVA: Well, how are the others? You can’t cheat on your husband, you’ll get run over by a locomotive.

N. BASKOV: No, sometimes you understand why she cheated.

M. MITROFANOVA: Well, well, yes, we are really growing up, but we are not aging, we are not decrepit for anything. I even want to mention Colin's excellent form, because I just had a seizure, and I went in for sports. But let's tell the truth that, well, it's true, it's useful sometimes to do push-ups, pull up a couple of times.

N. BASKOV: Muscle tone is the mood for the whole day.

M. MITROFANOVA: Absolutely.

N. BASKOV: And then, when a person looks great, and when he walks in, picks up some clothes for himself, most often you know that, the most interesting thing is when you are in good weight, then I noticed, no matter what level of clothes and of what quality. When you look good, you can wear it, don't get it, but it looks great.

M. MITROFANOVA: I absolutely agree with you. Some say, especially corpulent women, they say: "Let me be loved as I am." Do you think this happens in real life?

N. BASKOV: No, well, it happens that they love the way they are, but isn't it pleasant for a person? Here I am now, having overcome the minus 12 kilograms, having dropped, I understand how much I wake up with a different feeling of myself.

M. MITROFANOVA: I understand, I am minus 4.

M. MITROFANOVA: I'm holding on to the wrong word.

N. BASKOV: By the way, we talked about colleagues, maybe we will listen, you know, I have, of course, both friends and singers with whom I sing together. Valeria will also take part in my concert, we are very friendly with her family, I adore this singer, I adore her human qualities, I adore her as a professional. I was lucky that I sang a duet with many in a creative tandem, and now, if there is an opportunity to listen to the song "Keeping Love".

M.MITROFANOVA: Song, creative union of singer Valeria and Nikolai Baskov "Preserving Love". Will you present this issue in the Kremlin?

N. BASKOV: Yes, what are you, Valeria has ordered such a dress, she will have a train of 5 meters. She will descend like the Queen of the Night.

M. MITROFANOVA: You know, she is one of those rare women who, the older, the more beautiful and well-groomed and better. But to be honest, there are not many of them.

N. BASKOV: Listen, one of my favorite singers Sofia Rotaru is celebrating 70 years next year. I saw her quite recently, and I can say that this woman still, I think, evokes feelings of desire.

M. MITROFANOVA: Exciting? Cool. Please tell me who else will take part in your concert from your friends and colleagues?

N. BASKOV: Natalie, Taisiya Povaliy, there will be a "special guest", I will not say now who, and a new name. In November, I open my production center, such a girl, I hope she will have a career, with a very unusual beautiful voice, we recorded a duet with her, Alina August. And, of course, now my muse Sophie, with whom we both recorded a duet, and the person who creatively supports me in everything, who is next to me.

M. MITROFANOVA: So you will represent which chapter of the duets?

N. BASKOV: No, in each chapter there will be a duet, because in each chapter I need a muse, I need a woman, a girl for whom I perform my feats.

M. MITROFANOVA: Kohl, well, since we are already on a friendly wave. So I criticize the singer Natalie all the time, as they say. Well, a little bit of lyrics, of course, well, how do you like it ... Well, is she a good girl, a woman? Tell me, how is a person? Because I understand, if a good person, and sings, in principle, not a very thoughtful song, then I accept it, because you are my friend, and you will say: "She is beautiful." Tell me, how should I choose, or does it not even need to be done?

N. BASKOV: Each musician, artist has his own listener. If Natalie currently has a record for views on YouTube of 120 million for the song “And you are so handsome with a beard,” then someone needs it. Therefore, let's take into account the opinion of those who love it.

M. MITROFANOVA: The answer is exhaustive. Are you sure you're not tense?

N. BASKOV: No, what are you?

M. MITROFANOVA: Kohl, what would you like in the near future, besides this holiday, for it to go well, for everyone to be satisfied and happy? Well, to stir up something like that, invent, implement?

N. BASKOV: Oh, you know, life itself offers some options and some kind of coincidence of circumstances. I just wanted not only in my life, but in general, so that we were healthy. Health is the most important thing, and so that the soul does not hurt. When the soul does not hurt, the body does not hurt either.

M. MITROFANOVA: There is neither subtract nor add. I wholeheartedly, on behalf of our radio station, from people who love you, listen or do not listen, but respect, I congratulate you on the upcoming holiday.

N. BASKOV: Thank you, dear.

M. MITROFANOVA: I wish you that very health. You yourself know what to do, you are now an adult guy, responsible and very nice. Good luck to you and see you on the air again.

N. BASKOV: Thank you. And love to all.

M. MITROFANOVA: Thank you, dear.

Rashid Dayrabaev is tired of hiding the non-traditional sexual orientation of his ward. In order not to sleep with his wife, Baskov convinced her that both before and after the performance of the aria, you shouldn't have sex for two days ... "Kolya is the most notorious gay I've ever met in my life!" Said the ex-producer of the singer.

Not so long ago, we visited the former producer of Nikolai Baskov, Rashid Dairabaev, in the hospital. The media wrote about a unique technique by which the legend of show business is restored after a stroke and hypertensive crisis, and they kept silent that the cause of Rashid Yakubzhanovich's illness was parting with his ward and a reaction to the nasty things that the singer dumped at his producer.

RASHID YAKUBZHANOVICH in the hospital ward

The journalists met with Rashid in a sanatorium near Moscow, where he continues to put his health undermined by show business in order, and asked him to tell the truth about Nikolai. And not the noodles that are printed in glossy magazines.

Many believe that his scandalous interview in the music edition "Rolling Stone", where Basque calls you a thief, a traitor and a homosexual, played a fatal role in your relationship with Nikolai. On the Internet, all this garbage is still thrown out at the mention of your last name. Why are you silent? Why don't you react to rudeness? Are you afraid of his powerful father-in-law, Senator Spiegel?

After Nikolai's delirium in Rolling Stone, a well-known investor with whom I signed an agreement to promote one R&B team broke off a 1.5 million contract with me. The parents of the children, after reading an interview with a Russian pop star, asked the investor to take their children away from me, without understanding the essence of the issue. It's just that for them the Basque is an authority, the Basque is a star. Only they did not think about those who lit this star. My parents asked to withdraw me from the contract as the general producer of the collective. So thanks to Kolya's drunken ravings, my business reputation was damaged at least $ 1,500,000.

It is strange, because in show business it has long been said that Nikolai seems to be gay himself. They don't write about it just because no photographer has yet managed to catch him with his lover. True, after his wedding and the birth of his son, conversations on this topic stopped.

Nobody just tried to photograph. I'm tired of hiding the fact that Basque is a real homosexual, but I never paid attention to it. I believe that in the XXI century, whoever wants to, and e ... tsya, excuse me, lives. Kolya is the most notorious gay I have ever met in my life. Of course, as a person who stood at the origins of his career, I know everything, but who cares about it. This is everyone's personal life. His complexes associated with the theme of homosexuality developed from his first steps on stage. That is why he began to actively push photos with his wife to the press, hence the unreasonable and constant fall on one knee in front of any woman who went on stage to give him flowers. Hence these calls to give at concerts not flowers, but diapers for the child. Hooray! Event! It happened. After five years of marriage, he became a father! I was honored, finally!

KOLYA: with a friend, a St. Petersburg antique dealer Sasha

Hence his interview. Basque shouts to everyone that, they say, he is not gay, that he loves women, that here he is a hero-father. But it has long been known that a hat is on fire on a thief. Although, frankly speaking, I did not understand the silence of Sveta, whom I knew as an Octobrist and at whom this interview was given.

Of course, I'm not afraid of Boris Spiegel. Over the years, I have developed very warm and friendly relations with this family. I traveled half the world with them, was in all sorts of alterations, learned a lot from the head of the family, a person I respect and kind.

I did not want to react to the attacks of the boy, whom Boris Spiegel created through his financial capabilities, connections, talent and foresight. Yes, and my friends, respected people, said that I should not pay attention to the PR outputs of the former ward. But it's so offensive when you are silent, and they continue to smear you with dirt. This idiotic intelligence, the desire to keep everything inside itself, and put me in a hospital bed.

- You spent most of the summer in the hospital. Nikolai came to visit you?

In the life of the Basques, he walks over corpses. He doesn't need a sick ex-friend.

Wedding: once Nikolai and Svetlana felt like a stone wall behind the producer's back

- Why did Nikolay so stupidly, in fact, insult you for no apparent reason?

Just because. He did not even think of offending, blurted out what came to mind, and his intelligence is zero. We somehow flew in an airplane for four hours. At the beginning of the flight, I gave him a simple scanword. He only did it. Before landing, I look at what he guessed, and there are only five words in the cells written.

- How did you meet Baskov?

On the morning of May 9, 1999, I woke up from a call from Boris Spiegel, who announced to me that today we are all going together to the Theater of the Soviet Army for a recital by Alexander Morozov, in which famous artists from Moldova, Belarus and Russia are taking part.

In the evening we arrived at the concert and, having familiarized ourselves with the composition of the participants, sat down in the stalls. Borya tells me that a young guy named Baskov will soon appear on the stage, whose performance he needs to watch at the request of the Chairman of the State Duma Gennady Seleznev.

Something asexual floated onto the stage, all in white. Zhenya and I, Spiegel's wife, almost fell off our chairs with laughter. And then it began to sing "In Memory of Caruso." I can't say anything, it was done well. We liked. After the concert, the composer Morozov invited the guests to a buffet table, where Baskov was also brought. He again came in all white, greeted in position, emphasizing that he was a tenor. He said that he was not allowed to eat anything, only warm water could be drunk without gas. Zhenya and I laughed for a long time. After this concert, Boris kept asking me, a person from show business, for my opinion on what he saw. I was extremely laconic and said that this niche is free and he can take it with a good investment of money, with good management. Then Boris Isaakovich invited me to take the place of executive producer.

- How did you make a star out of Kolya?

First of all, Boris Isaakovich and I went to dress him. Nikolai arrived at the boutique in some kind of tight-fitting short pants. They were two small to him. Well, we got a bunch of suits, give Kolya - try on. He asks to leave the booth and close the curtain. We're shocked. After all, there are only men in the store. Without waiting for him to call, they pushed back the curtain to look, and he was there without panties. At first I thought I was a pervert, and then Boris and I guessed that if Kolya had put on his underpants, then the pants in which he arrived would definitely not fit on him.

It took half a year to select songs, costumes, ballet, arrangers, clip makers. There was everything: trips to competitions, meetings with Obraztsova, Kazarnovskaya, and lessons in scene-movement, the latter was never taught. In a word, he created the image of a positive hero-lover. Created ...

CREATIVE UNION: Dayrabaev, Der Spiegel, Basque and Montserrat Caballe ...

Soon there were dizzying notices, the first places in the charts, fees, from which the boy's head was blown away. He did not believe that before meeting with Spiegel, with me, he participated in morning concerts at the Bolshoi and received $ 200 per month of work. Why labor? Yes, because there you need to sing Lensky's aria live. And then I drove past the concert hall "Russia", exactly at 20 o'clock I went on stage, danced one or two songs. Why did you dance? Because the tape recorder sings, and the one who has to sing only opens his mouth. I put at least 6,000 bucks in my pocket for this, kissed Rashid and hello. SPA-salons, manicures, pedicures, masks, endless hair highlighting, leeches, massages. Then, until four in the morning, a solid nativity scene.

He comes home, and the performance for Elena Nikolaevna's own mother begins. One - for her, the other - for his wife, amusement, father-in-law. And all these years I have the whole truth.

- Do you mean the second - blue life?

It did not start all of a sudden. In distant Novosibirsk, he met a gentleman who then headed the Bolshoi Theater Friends' Club. He introduced him to conductor Mark Ermler. He, moving to Moscow, invited Baskov to the State Academic Bolshoi Theater as a soloist-trainee. And then it started. Military choir, familiar blue uncles, including the military. Nikolai especially loved the generals, well, they loved him too. Basque by hook or by crook falls into the concert group of the composer Alexander Morozov, who introduces him to the daughter of the host of the Petersburg program "Musical Ring" Tamara Maksimova - Anastasia Maksimova.

He begins to whip after her, play the role of a young man in love. But, naturally, nothing happens. Nikolai has other interests.

I remember he was eager to go on tour to the Riga seaside, to Dzintari. I wondered why, but it turned out that someone told him that there was a gorgeous gay club in Riga. Nikolai quickly worked out the concert, gave his guards a drink, so that they would lose their vigilance, and, yawning, supposedly went to bed in his room. Ten minutes later, the powdered one comes after me, together we go to the parking lot, take a taxi and go to Riga to look for Kolya's love.

- In Europe and America, every second star does this. Why hide?

Ask him. An Italian opera diva once approached Baskov and said literally the following: “Kolya, you need to open up at the peak of popularity. At this point, people don't care if you are gay or not. But then you can live in peace. "

Nikolay Baskov, Sergey Lazarev, Philip Kirkorov

But I repeat, gay, not gay - it really doesn't matter. The point is different. It all comes down to money. According to the agreement, the Basque was supposed to receive 40 percent of all profits and received them immediately from the moment the contract was signed. After that, he seduced the daughter of Boris and Yevgenia Shpigel, turned her head and got married. I was against this marriage and spoke about it openly. He said that Baskov is not who he claims to be, that he is only interested in money. And so it turned out. After the wedding, he asks me to persuade Boris Isaakovich to give up the 40 percent owed to him in his favor. This is motivated by the fact that he is now a son-in-law, that money is needed for a young family. I talked to Boris and he agreed. He said 20 percent to you, Rashid, and 80 percent to his son-in-law.

Didn't he know that his son-in-law was gay?

Yes, Boris Isaakovich, okay. How does Sveta live with him? This is what is amazing. He told her that for two days - before and after the concert - he was strictly forbidden to have sex. I sat with him in the recording studios until four or five in the morning, we just watched TV, listened to music, laughed. I understood that Kolya was waiting to come when Sveta fell asleep.

Some of his calls from Spain, where they went on their honeymoon, what are they worth. “Rashidik, I have a holiday. I'm lying by the pool. Sveta melted, went to the room, my hair will be dried for two hours, and I will go to a restaurant, take a break from my marital debt. You can't even imagine what kind of waiters are here - you can't take your eyes off. "

By the way, it is true that Nikolai did plastic surgery several times and sucked off fat?

These are inventions of the newspaper "Life". Kolya did only teeth and hair. No fat suction. He was on strict diets, lived in the gym, constant massages and leeches. If necessary, Nikolai always quickly put himself in good shape. In this regard, he is a hard worker and a great fellow.

It is felt that, in spite of everything, you do not hold a grudge against him and treat as to your child.

I stopped following his work, because it hurts me from what I see in his performance. I would like to ask him: Kolya, why did I not sleep at night? To see this horror? I know that he no longer has the fees that he had. His attacks on me are also a PR move so that people read these articles and speak, albeit badly, but only speak, if only they pay for tickets to his concerts.

- So, you are now helping him to raise the box office with your interviews?

It turns out, yes.

- High relationships. By the way, what are you doing now?

I'm getting better (laughs). But seriously, I'm going to start a new project - singer Maxim Katyrev. A talented person with a great voice. He is a laureate of all kinds of vocal competitions, baritone.

BARITON MAXIM KATYREV: Dairabayev's new protege

I would not like to talk about him anymore. I don't want Baskov to say later that thanks to him I am promoting a new artist. Although, if Boris Isaakovich Spiegel had not had me in his life, he would never have become involved in show business and, accordingly, Baskov would have had nothing at all. And when they say "talent will always make its way", this is such nonsense! Look how many talented people sing in our passages and restaurants.

Graduated from the Moscow Correspondence Credit and Finance Institute with a degree in economics.

1988 - 1991 - Director of the collective "All-Union Central Creative Studio for Gifted Children" Tender May ".

1991 -1992 - Director Igor Sarukhanov.

1992 -1993 - director Vika Tsyganova.

1999 - 2005 - executive producer of Nikolai Baskov.

06 July 2016 Nikolay and Sophie are good together, but they are in no hurry to go to the registry office.

It's almost mid-summer, and Baskov hasn't really bathed yet. Work! In October he ordered to wait for big concerts in the Kremlin, so now he is rehearsing from dawn to dawn. And for another 40 years soon - it seems to be not accepted to celebrate, but it is impossible not to think about these figures, special for a man ...

"I feel like 23"

- Nikolay, summer is outside. Going on vacation?

- This year, vacation as such will not work. Unless I will break out for a few days - I have global concerts coming. My show called "Game" will take place in the Kremlin. All forces are thrown there, we must rehearse! The show will be solid and bright. And September is tight: the festival of humor in Sochi, and the "New Wave" in the same place. And also the children's "New Wave" in August in Yalta. The dates are all scheduled. Plus, my project on television in a new format - "Saturday Evening" - will also take a lot of shooting days.

- And I saw a photo on your Instagram - you have a healthy fish in your hands. Are you a fisherman out?

- Yes, I love fishing. And different extreme types of recreation too. And I used to ski. But this is all spontaneous, when friends call: "Come diving with us!" If you have two or three free days, why not get distracted from everything that surrounds you?

- On the poster of your new show, you take off your mask. What is he, the new Nikolai?

- And you will find out at the concert. In the show, I try on masks of different characters - people who believe in love, are disappointed in it, fight for it, sacrifice themselves. Each of us uses masks in life depending on the situation. Probably, we are natural only at home, when we fall asleep in our own bed. And when we wake up.

At upcoming concerts, the artist promises to show his real self

- You used to always celebrate your anniversaries with pomp. And this time, I heard, on the eve of your 40th birthday, you are planning to run away from everyone. Do you support superstition?

- This is the line. Both physical and psychological. Like most men, 40 years old do not want to celebrate. Most likely, I will go somewhere for a few days just to be alone, to spend this time alone with myself. Without a mask.

- Do you calmly perceive this figure or with some horror?

- Not calm, but I can't change anything. It remains only to go forward. There is no turning back. I feel myself from strength to 23. Wrinkles, however, give out a little.

"I needed a pause"

- What event in your life is the main thing for you - so that the peak of happiness is right?

- If I was offered to repeat the path that I went to my years, I would not agree. I would choose what's next. It is impossible at 40 to say about your main achievements, because you approach actions, relationships in a different way, review life situations, behavior in them. Yes, 40 years is the baggage behind me. And in my 40s, I want to scatter half of this baggage and take with me everything only the most positive. And leave everything unnecessary.

- You seem so airy, successful. Is it possible that a lot of unnecessary things have accumulated?

- Yes, there is not a single person on earth of an easy and happy fate! I have not met such. Maybe that's why my show is called The Game. Playing happy is much more pleasant, even if it is given through difficulties.

With the most dear people: dad Viktor Vladimirovich and mom Elena
Nikolaevna in childhood and now

- Have you ever experienced a feeling of boredom from the fact that everything has already happened and there is nothing to wish for?

- I haven't toured for seven years! At 22 I appeared on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater, at 24 I gave my first concerts in the Rossiya Concert Hall, I had a tight tour schedule. And then I realized that I needed a break to prepare to say something else to the viewer. I needed a pause. And now, thank God, it is technologically possible to show the show that you want. So that it is not just an artist who stands on stage. Efforts, money, great directorial work have been invested in The Game. And there is no boredom. So many ideas! It would be enough, most importantly, for all health.

- Many years ago you had a legendary interview with Rolling Stone magazine, when you agreed to drink alcohol during the conversation. Are you still capable of such hooliganism?

- I would say that it was not hooliganism.

- Maybe a performance?

- Stupidity due to youth. From me, like from any artist, you can expect anything - an artist is always unpredictable.

- Since childhood, you have been living in the world of spotlights, bouquets from fans. Probably you don’t come into contact with everyday life?

- In fact, I am a very simple person in everyday life. For example, I pack my suitcases myself - because I want to know what kind of things I am taking. I have no right to demand responsibility from people for what is purely my personal: clothes, food, something else. Yes, on stage I seem unattainable, pompous, pretentious. Let them perceive me that way! But I am happy that when people recognize me personally, they say: "My God, you are a completely different person." And many, after meeting me, treat me differently. They fall in love, want to be friends, to be around more often. I am very cheerful in companies, I like to create an atmosphere. I love to enjoy life and I want people next to me to be happy.

I postpone the marriage so as not to run into the same rake again. My marriage became an open wound for me

- When everyone wants to be friends, isn't it tiring?

- Any artist has such a problem: even close friends expect a holiday and fireworks from him. This is laid down by fate. I understand that I have no right to look tired and tortured. People want solar energy. And if I can give it, I go to meetings, holidays. But if I feel that the batteries have run out, I'd better stay at home and stay alone or with people close to me.

- Do you know the feeling of loneliness in a crowd?

- Of course. If the artist does not sometimes feel lonely and remain alone with himself, then he will not be able to go out to people, longing to meet them. We must be hungry to communicate.

- And you had to go out to the public when you don't feel like it at all?

- It often happens. You can lie in the dressing room exhausted. But, as soon as you step over the curtain, after 5 - 7 minutes an extraordinary resource turns on. You forget about everything! Many times I saw very big stars - they were standing behind the curtains, and I thought: “Wow, how tired he is, he can hardly stand…” And young women or men rushed out onto the stage! Although many were 80.

- They say that everything in show business is built on hypocrisy. The race for leadership, the battle for the ethers ...

- Once I was taken away from the shooting, I woke up in the hospital and came to my senses for a month. I had peritonitis appendicitis. At that moment, I realized that nothing had changed in my life, nothing had escaped anywhere. And that there is nothing more important than health. Therefore, all this swarming ... It's just the ambitions of a creative person. If the artist does not have them, then there will be no artist. It's like a sport, you need to approach it calmly. There is a winner, and there is a silver or bronze medalist. Why envy another person? Everyone has their own destiny.

- You quite often act in films. Does it bother you that you are usually called for roles that overlap with your stage image?

- I love it. Of course, any artist wants to play Hamlet. But this means that I have a self-sufficient vivid image, since they want to exploit it.

"I do not renounce marriage"

The singer prefers to be happy today and not think about what will happen tomorrow.

- In recent years, you have appeared everywhere with Sophia. And more than once they said that you have a guest marriage - you see each other often, but you live separately. Do you admit that someday it will flow into an ordinary one - with a registry office, a wedding?

- Now we will pass my 40-year mark, and then life will show. Until 40, I like mine.

- Well, yes, usually men like them, but women do not.

- You know, marriage has become so obsolete ... This stamp is in the passport ... Nobody will give a guarantee. Look how many couples get married suddenly! And how many people get divorced after 15 - 20 years of marriage ?! The last thing that shocked -. Nobody thought that they would divorce! Therefore, based on the example of many of my acquaintances and friends, I understand that you need to be happy today and not think about what will happen tomorrow.

- You grew up in a complete, traditional family. How did you manage to persuade your parents to be calm about the fact that you have a guest marriage? Or are they used to the quirks of an artist son?

- They just had enough of my first marriage at 7.5 years. I had it. It had its pluses, its minuses. The only thing I can say is that there is no need to rush to get married at a young age. Still, it leaves a certain imprint on a person. Maybe someone gets a happy marriage, and people are together all their lives. But for me, my marriage was an open wound. Therefore, maybe I'm delaying the moment of marriage, so as not to run into the same rake again. But I do not promise. You can get married at any time. As well as getting a divorce.

- Would you like children in the near future?

- I really want children, I think about it. In the near future, in any case, I will have them. I think within a year or two years is a must.

- What helps you to get back to normal when you run out of strength and do not know what to do next? Locked up with a bottle of vodka, call Montserrat Caballe?

- I have a confessor. The man has known me for many years. A close person with whom, if it's hard for me, I just fly, for example, to Jerusalem. When I am in the Holy Land, I have something to talk about with God. This is the moment that gives me the opportunity to re-energize.

- So you are churched?

- When I was kicked out of GITIS, I really wanted to enter the Gnessin Academy. There was a church between the conservatory and Gnesinka. There were grandmothers who begged for alms. I passed by, gave one to my grandmother, and she said to me: “Son, go to church. Ask what you want and it will come true. " "From whom to ask?" - "Yes, here at Nicholas the Wonderworker." And I began to go every day before entering the church and ask the Savior and Nicholas the Wonderworker to be taken to the Gnessin Academy. And as soon as I entered, I realized that faith became an integral part of my life, because I realized that the Lord was listening to me.

- And you know prayers, do you observe fasts?

- I love to read the Psalter very much, I always observe Holy Week. I fly to Corfu (an island in Greece, famous for its monasteries. - Author). I really love to celebrate Easter there. Listen, the soul also needs food - spiritual! I like very much to listen to akathists (special church chants to the glory of the Savior, the Mother of God and the saints. - Auth.). I turn it on in my headphones when I fly on an airplane. It gives me peace and strength.

Private bussiness

Born October 15, 1976 in Balashikha near Moscow in the family of a military man and teacher. From 3rd to 7th grade he studied in Novosibirsk. From the age of 11 he performed on the stage of the Children's Musical Theater of the Young Actor. Graduated from the Gnessin Russian Academy of Music in chamber and opera singing, postgraduate studies at the Moscow Conservatory, Faculty of Management, Moscow State University. He was a soloist with the Bolshoi Theater troupe, a student of Montserrat Caballe. Winner of many awards, TV presenter. People's Artist of the Russian Federation. In 2001 - 2008 he was married to Svetlana Shpigel, the daughter of her producer. A son was born in marriage; by mutual agreement, the Basques do not maintain relations with him. Over the years, Nikolai had affairs with Oksana Fedorova, Anastasia Volochkova. Since 2014, the artist has been dating singer Sophie Kalcheva.

"The game". Nikolay Baskov show.
State Kremlin Palace
7 - 8 October